Heat island goes mainstream at last

On 30 June the Melbourne Forum will host a free conference, Combating the urban heat island.

The flier for it says:

Urban development dramatically changes the landscape. Buildings, roads, and other infrastructure replace open land and vegetation. Surfaces that were once permeable and moist become impermeable and dry. These changes cause urban regions to become warmer than their rural surroundings, forming an “island” of higher temperatures in the landscape. The negative effects of the heat island phenomena include increased energy consumption, elevated emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, impaired water quality and compromised human health and comfort. This Melbourne Forum will discuss management of heat issues and ways to combat the heat island effect.